docs: def _pprint(params):
      """prints object state in stable manner"""
      params_list = list()
      line_sep = ','
      for i, (k, v) in enumerate(sorted(params.iteritems())):
          if type(v) is float:
              # use str for representing floating point numbers
              # this way we get consistent representation across
              # architectures and versions.
              this_repr = '%s=%.10f' % (k, v)
          else:
              # use repr of the rest
              this_repr = '%s=%r' % (k, v)
          params_list.append(this_repr)
  
      lines = ','.join(params_list)
      return lines